The Gunwinyguan languages (or Gunwingguan) form the second largest family

Language family

A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...

 of Australian Aboriginal languages

Australian Aboriginal languages

The Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to the Australian Aborigines of Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding the languages of Tasmania and the Torres Strait Islanders...

. They are spoken in Arnhem Land

Arnhem Land

The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...

 in northern Australia. The most populous language is Gunwinygu, with some 1500 speakers.

Gunwinyguan languages proper have a fortis–lenis

Fortis and lenis

In linguistics, fortis and lenis are terms generally used to refer to groups of consonants that are produced with greater and lesser energy, respectively, such as in energy applied, articulation, etc....

 contrast in plosive consonants. Lenis/short plosives have weak contact and intermittent voicing, while fortis/long plosives have full closure, a more powerful release burst, and no voicing.

Although the validity of the Gunwinyguan proper is widely accepted, the inclusion of some lesser known language isolate

Language isolate

A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...

s is debated. Ethnologue

Ethnologue

Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...

, for example, includes the Burarran languages

Burarran languages

Burarran or Maningrida is a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. It includes four languages, none closely related:*Guragone*Burarra...

, Gagadu, and Enindhilyagwa

Enindhilyagwa language

Enindhilyagwa is an Australian language isolate spoken by the Warnindhilyagwa people on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia. A 2001 Australian government identified more than one thousand speakers of the language, although there are reports of as many as three thousand...

, which are not included here. What follows is based on a 1997 classification by Nicholas Evans

Nicholas Evans (linguist)

Nicholas Evans is an Australian-American linguist.Holding a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the Australian National University , he is Head and Professor at the School of Culture, History and Language at the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University...

 at the Australian National Universtity.

Classification

• Gunwinyguan proper
  • Jawoyn (Djauan)
  • ?Ngandi
  • Jala: Ngalakgan
    Ngalakan language
    Ngalakan or Ngalakgan is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Northern Non-Pama–Nyungan languages.-Consonants:Ngalakan has a typical Australian consonant inventory, with many coronal places of articulation , including nasals at every stop place, and four liquids, but no fricatives...
    
    , Rembarrnga
  • Gunwinggic: Kunwinjku (Gunwinggu), Kunbarlang
  • Ngalkbun (Dalabon)
  • Wagiman
    Wagiman language
    Wagiman is a near-extinct indigenous Australian language spoken by fewer than 10 people in and around Pine Creek, in the Katherine Region of the Northern Territory....
    
    
  • Yangmanic: Dagoman, Wardaman
    Wardaman language
    Wardaman is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Northern Non-Pama–Nyungan languages. The language is close to Dagoman and Yangman .-Consonants:-Vowels:-References:...
    
    , Yangman
• Marran: Alawa, Warndarrang
  Warndarang language
  Warndarang is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language in the Gunwinyguan family, formerly spoken in southern Arnhem Land, along the Gulf of Carpentaria...
  
  , Marra
  Marra language
  Marra is an Australian Aboriginal language, traditionally spoken on an area of the Gulf of Carpentaria coast in the Northern Territory around the Roper, Towns and Limmen Rivers. Marra is now an endangered language. The most recent survey was in 1991; at that time, there were only 15 speakers, all...
  
  
• Kungarakany
  Kungarakany language
  Kungarakany is an Australian language spoken in the Northern Territory....
  
  
• Nunggubuyu
• Waray
  Waray language (Australia)
  Waray is an Australian language spoken in the Adelaide River area of the Northern Territory.-External links:*...
  
  
• Mangarayi
  Mangarayi language
  Mangarayi is an Australian language spoken in the Northern Territory....
  
  

(Not to be confused with the Maran languages of Pama–Nyungan.)

Evans has proposed that Gunwinyguan is related to Pama–Nyungan in a family he calls Macro-Pama–Nyungan.